


young wills

by Atherys



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Autistic Frisk, Families of Choice, Gen, I feel much shame., Roommates, Selectively Mute Frisk, also, but that's not relevant yet & i'll warn properly for everything on a chapter-to-chapter basis, chara and frisk are both non-binary., chara has some issues but they're not a literal demon, i love this child and i hope that you will too. eventually., will at some point start dealing w self harm and child abuse and general mental unhealth bc chara.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-05-25 00:22:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6172621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atherys/pseuds/Atherys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Years ago, the barrier was broken and the monsters freed from the Underground. Since then they've been integrating into human society. </p><p>Not quite as many years ago, a human child was adopted by a monster family. </p><p>Now nearing adulthood, Chara and Asriel are off to college, ready to share a room just like they always have -- turns out, these things don't always turn out like you've planned them... </p><p>((just-for-fun college au mainly centered around chara, frisk, and asriel.))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. hopes and disappointments

**Author's Note:**

> there are a few things you need to know before you read this. (that's a lie. you can skip right ahead if you want to. i'm just rambling.)
> 
> 1\. i have never attended american college. i do not actually know how things work. for now, i do not particularly CARE how things work. my research about this particular subject is minimal, bordering on non-existent, and i'm actually pretty happy with that because i had so much fun writing this and that fun would all but disappear if i started getting too anxious about getting things Right. and considering that i wrote this entire thing while procrastinating on the other chapter fic wip, which is technically my main project, bc i have the worst case of anxiety-induced writer's block for the particular chapter i should be writing for that one, and i REALLY don't want to get a similar block for this fic. i have PLANS. (limited plans.) also this is the most productive procrastination i've ever done.
> 
> 2\. this takes place in an au with a hand-wavy timeline where frisk, chara and asriel are all the same age, and the barrier was broken BEFORE chara fell.
> 
> 4\. i slipped into 2nd person pov like TWENTY TIMES while trying to write this it was Hell. possibly that means i should switch. shrugs. (pls let me know if you find any slip-ups.) 
> 
> 3\. it's 3am this is neither proof-read nor beta'd but if i don't post it now i might chicken out and decide not to do it at all. nevertheless there's a larger-than-0% chance i'll reread it tomorrow and be like 'holy shit what was i THINKING'. for now, though, i hope you enjoy!

 

“Well, then,” Dad says, looking more than a little bit out of place at the airport. Looking more than a little, awkward, too.

“It’s not too late to change your mind, you know,” he says. “If you’re too nervous about the flight. Your mother and I could still drive you there instead.”

“We’ve already paid for the tickets, though,” Asriel reminds him, even though they all know the flying part isn’t really the issue here. “Besides, I’m sort of excited! It’ll be a new experience, right? So it’s sort of an adventure!”

“Not to mention how it’d take _hours_ to get there by car,” Chara mumbles behind him. True. The reminder of how far away they’ll suddenly be makes his heart skip a beat. He’s so excited! And, naturally, absolutely terrified.

“Are you certain you have everything you need? You did not forget to pack anything?” Mom’s doing her best to look calm and collected, but he can tell she’s nervous and sad about them leaving, just like Dad.

“We triple-checked the packing lists, mom,” Chara says. “We have everything, I promise.”

They’re smiling, but it’s a tight, strained smile, forced. Asriel isn’t certain if they’re anxious for Mom and Dad to leave, or just impatient to be off already, but it’s probably one of the two.

He wants to call for a group hug, but… Chara’s doing that thing where they bounce their foot off the ground as if it’s too hot to touch for more than half a second at a time, and he doesn’t think they’d appreciate that much physical contact right now, so instead he just gives Dad a tight hug, whispers ‘ _I love you_ ’.

“I love you too,” Dad replies. “You’re both going to have a great time, I’m sure.”

Asriel thinks it sounds like he might cry again, and if he does, Asriel is _sure_ he won’t be able to hold back either, so he nods and gives him a smile that’s only a _little_ bit wobbly before giving Mom a hug too. She pulls him close. She smells like home.

“Keep an eye on Chara for us, Asriel,” she murmurs to him, quiet enough that he thinks Chara can’t hear them. “Take care of each other.”

“I promise,” he whispers back. She nods and raises her voice again.

“If you need anything, anything at all, your father and I are merely a phone-call away.”

“I know, mom,” he says, leaning into her embrace and taking one last deep breath before letting go and stepping back. He smiles as wide as he can, to reassure both her and Chara. “But I’m sure it’ll be alright! Besides, I’ll be with Chara, right? We’ll be fine as long as we have each other.”

He believes that with all his heart.

He only wishes he believed that Chara did, too.

Regardless, for now they’re here, with him, and they take his hand when he offers it and doesn’t mention it when his voice wavers as he tells Mom and Dad goodbye again, and once they’re through the checks and on the plane they actually smile at him, small and secretive, and he smiles back, terror fading into the background to make way for giddy excitement; they’re really going. It’s really just the two of them now, him and Chara against the world, and it will be _great_.

That’s the thought he keeps all his focus on as the plane takes off and they’re on their way, headed for their new lives together.

* * *

 

In hindsight, he probably should have expected something like this. Or at least been prepared for things to go wrong. As it is, he is completely blindsided when the woman sitting at the reception desk does a double-take when they ask for their room keys, and then asks them to hold on just a moment as she double-checks something with her superiors. There is a quick, hushed conversation, and then she turns back to them and shatters his view of the future with a few words and a bland, pasted-on smile.

“What do you _mean_ I can’t room with him?” they hiss. Their eyes have narrowed down to two thin slits. They flex their fingers once, before clenching their hand into a fist. They’re looking at the receptionist like she just took the last piece of chocolate from the fridge without even putting it on the grocery list, or something equally horrific.

Asriel knows the signs and Chara is about three point one seconds away from launching over the desk to beat her into a bloody pulp.

_“Chara,”_ he whispers hurriedly, “We only just got here, please don’t start a fight, it’s probably just a misunderstanding, _right?_ ”

For the last part he raises his voice and nods imploringly at the woman. She does not look affected in the slightest by his prayers.

“I’m sorry,” she says, not sounding sorry _at all_ , “But we have a very strict policy on monster-human roommates. The… culture clash, so to speak, is always a great distraction to the students. For their own good, we only pair newcomers with others of their own species.”

“The _culture clash?_ ” Chara says disbelievingly. “Lady, this is my _brother._ What sort of ‘culture clash’ could possibly occur when we’ve known each other for years?”

Asriel can’t help but hold his breath. _Please,_ he thinks, _come on, let us have this, just this once_ , but she only gives Chara a sceptical glance, obviously thinking them a liar somehow, despite the shared last name on their papers. Monster-human mixed families aren’t exactly the most common thing around, he supposes.

It’s lucky for everyone involved that she doesn’t try to call them on it.

“I’m afraid we can’t make exceptions to this particular rule. Had we known when you applied… We’re very sorry about the mix-up, but happy to announce that we’ve been able to make last-minute arrangements, and you have both been assigned new, more appropriate rooms.”

“Is there really nothing you can do?” Asriel pipes up. “It’s just, we’ve been looking forward to this for so long…”

She shakes her head. “The policy is very clear.”

He can practically hear the last traces of Chara’s very limited patience shatter into little pieces.

“Then your _policy_ is _outdated and nonsensical_.”

“We consider ourselves to be very progressive with our management of different cultures-”

“You’re a fucking flagrant assault upon common sense and decency is what you are,” Chara growls. Asriel winces and grabs their arm.

“Excuse me?” says the woman stiffly, colour rising to her cheeks. Oh, no. Oh _no._

“You _heard_ me-” Chara bites out, certainly on their way to follow it up with a worse and more direct insult, until Asriel interrupts them.

“Sorry!” he yelps. “Sorry, I- I’m so sorry, it’s been a really long trip, we’re very tired, we’ve been rooming together since we were children, this just comes as a surprise, is all, they don’t mean anything by it-- can we please just have the keys, and then we’ll go?”

The woman sniffs haughtily, but picks out two keys from a nearby cabinet and pushes them across the desk to him, eyeing Chara distastefully. They’re fuming with anger beside him, and he tightens his grip on their hand, a clear warning. They shoot him a glare, but keep quiet. _Thank god_ , he thinks, breathless with relief as he snatches up the keys from the desk.

“The monster dorms are on the west side of campus. Humans are to the east.”

“You keep them on _different sides of the campus_ ?” Chara says, at the same time as Asriel chimes out “Great! Good to know! It was nice to meet you _bye_ !” as he drags them out of the room as quickly as possible, almost lifting them up to carry them in his haste to get out of there. Once they’re outside they snatch their hand away from his, snapping at him that ‘ _I can walk by myself, thanks,’_ in a rather mean tone, before launching into a vitriolic rant about the woman. It’s rather loud. People are giving them weird looks, though some of them mainly look curious. Asriel tries to smile apologetically at bypassers at the same time as he nods sympathetically as Chara details how many ways they’d like to systematically destroy the woman’s life, psychologically ruin whoever came up with the stupid policy in the first place, and burn the college in general to the ground.

Mostly it’s best to just let them work through it like this. They always tire themself out eventually.

“She was just doing her job,” he says  soothingly, once the worst of the rage seems to have died down a little. Or maybe they’re just running out of material.

“She was being a bigoted douche,” Chara says flatly, and then, after viciously kicking a nearby rock into the wall, “You shouldn’t let people just trample all over you like that, Asriel. You gotta stand up for yourself. Why do you have to be so…. so _nice_ all the time?”

“I’m the sensible one,” he says jokingly. “Balancing you out is my sacred role in life.”

Chara scoffs and gives him a weak shove. “No, seriously. Why?”

Asriel shrugs. “Someone has to, right?”

“Doesn’t have to be _you._ ” They drag their fingers through their hair, ruffling it. When they get tangled up near the ends they tug sharply until their hands get free again. Asriel grabs their arms, gentle but firm, and holds them still.

“Hey,” he says, waiting until Chara meets his gaze. “We’ll figure it out. It’ll be okay, really! She’s just one person! They can’t all be that bad - it’s not worth getting that upset about, okay? I don’t mind.”

“Whatever,” they mumble, but some of the fight bleeds out of them, and when they pull their arms back to themself they do it with a sigh, not with a huff. They make a vague gesture with their arm. “I just don’t understand how you even _do_ that. Keep your cool when she’s… being such an _asshole_?”

“I guess I’m just used to it, after hanging out with you for so long,” he jokes weakly, trying to get a smile out of them, but instead they go oddly quiet beside him.

“Yeah. I guess.”

“Chara…” he starts, meaning to apologise, to take it back, but Chara shakes their head sharply.

“No, it’s okay. True, right?” They huff out a laugh, but it’s not a very happy one. “Hell, maybe it’s _good_ we won’t share a room. Maybe now you’ll get to stay with someone who’s actually _decent._ ”

There’s a sharp pang in his chest, a bitter taste on his tongue. He _hates_ it when Chara gets like this. It’s like walking a maze where the walls are lined with broken glass in complete darkness; it’s impossible to tell which way is the right one, and getting it wrong can turn super ugly. Anything he says or does could be wrong, and the rules keep changing behind his back.

“ _You’re_ decent,” he says, past the feeling in his throat. “I’d rather stay with you, the way we planned. You _know_ that. I just don’t want to fight…”

“-to fight anyone, yeah, I know,” they say, more a sigh than anything else. “Don’t cry, Asriel.”

“I’m not,” he says, moments before sniffling.

“‘course you’re not,” Chara mumbles, reaching up to cup his face in their hands. He leans into the touch. “You big crybaby,” they say, but their eyes are soft, and even though their hands are cold on his cheeks the touch is comforting. “I’m sorry, okay? I’ll… I’ll take the other assignment. It’ll be fine.”

Their face is twisted up into a grimace, and they sound neither convinced nor convincing, but he appreciates the attempt. “And you won’t fight the supervisor?” he prompts.

“ _Well_ , I-”

“ _Chara.”_

They groan. “ _Fine._ I won’t fight her. Look, I’ll even do you one better: I solemnly swear I won’t even try to get her fired. Or seriously injured.”

“Or injured _at all._ ”

“Okay, okay, jeez!” They roll their eyes. “No physical-”

“- _or verbal-_ ”

“-or verbal harassment of the dear sweet bigot, _I get it._ ”

“Or your roommate.”

“ _Seriously?_ ” They throw their hands in the air and step away from him, but it’s fine. They’re not _really_ upset, just playing along for his sake. Probably. Like, 99.9% certainty. Asriel nods, careful to keep a completely straight face.

“I reserve the right to defend myself if they try anything,” they say, glaring at him.

“I wouldn’t expect any less,” he responds serenely. “Come on, help me find my room.”

“Why do we have to go to _your_ place first?” they say, falling into step beside him.

“ _Someone_ filled their bags up with books and chocolate, leaving it to _someone else_ to pack all the necessities, and I’m not unpacking until I’m in my own room.”

“That’s… fair, actually. That’s fair.”

“Told you I’m the sensible one,” he says, just before nearly walking into a wall. Chara’s lips twitch.

“No one could ever doubt it.”

 

* * *

 

His room is… fine, he supposes. Despite trying to read up on things so he’ll be prepared for living in a dorm he’s not been quite sure what to expect. There’s two beds, one by each wall, and a door leading into a bathroom - or, well. There’s a sink and a toilet. Showers are shared. Just by the door there’s a bunch of shelves, and a tiny fridge. It is, naturally, empty.

“Looks like they’re not here yet. My roommate, I mean.”

“Oh, really?” Chara says snidely, eyeing the creepily clean room, and the two both still very made beds. “How do you figure?”

Asriel ignores them in favour of putting the bags down next to the bed on the right. “This is mine now,” he declares. “First come first serve.”

“That’s… generally how it works, yes.”

“Hush. Just let me have this.”

“Whatever.” Chara drops their bags next to his and let their gaze drift around the room. After a moment they give their evaluation. “It’s so… plain.”

“...yeah. I’m sure it’ll look better once I’ve settled in, though, right?”

“I guess. Did you bring any posters or something?”

“We packed together,” he reminds them. “You know exactly what I packed.”

“You’re assuming I paid _attention._ ”

He huffs out a laugh. They did. He is absolutely certain that they did. Sure, their bag has a disproportionate amount of snacks in it, but they were watching him very carefully when he packed their stuff too, and he’s pretty sure they snuck a few things he forgot into the bags, too.

There aren’t any posters. There are pictures, photographs of him and Chara, and of Mom and Dad, but that’s about it.

“If I can’t think of anything better I’ll force you to draw something for me,” he says. Chara’s a really good artist. (They insist that they’re not, and, well, he’s willing to admit that he _may_ be slightly biased. But he still thinks they are.)

“You say that as if there’s any possibility of me drawing something that won’t get you into serious trouble with your roommate.”

“They’ll have to deal,” he says, but the reminder that he’s not rooming with Chara after all puts sort of a dent in his mood. Nevertheless he plasters a smile onto his face and pulls open the first bag. “C’mon, help me unpack.”

“Ugh, _fine._ ”

They grumble while doing it, but they help him sort through which stuff’s his and which is theirs, and make sure it all gets put where it’s supposed to be. The clothes actually have to stay in the bag - they weren’t exactly able to bring a dresser, and there wasn’t one in the room - but that’s alright. It’s not as if he brought that many to begin with.

Eventually things are looking half-way decent, with shelves and desk at least a _little_ less empty, and it feels a lot more like something that could grow to be home with his favourite family photograph propped up on the bedside table and the sheets he’s used to draped over the bed. With a happy little noise he sits down on it, poking at the mattress. It’ll do.

Chara promptly flops down next to him on the bed, legs dangling off the side. He’d tease them about the way they’re not tall enough for their feet to reach the ground, but he likes his head firmly attached to his neck, thank you very much.

“We’re gonna have to get one of those miniature safes, now,” they sigh, closing their eyes. “One each, even. We’re both gonna have get used to locking our valuables away everytime we leave our rooms just because of this stupid administration _fuck-up._ ”

He hums noncommittally. “I’m not sure we’ll have to. I mean, just because my roommate isn’t _you_ doesn’t mean they’re a _thief_.”

“Better safe than sorry, and all that,” they say, waving their hand. After a short silence they follow it up with, “Asriel? This _sucks_.”

He grabs their hand and squeezes it, feels his heart do a strange flip in his chest. “Yeah. It really, really does.” He swallows. “I’m gonna tell Mom about it as soon as I call her. Maybe she’ll be able to fix it?”

“Yeah,” Chara says, not sounding very convinced. “Maybe.”

It doesn’t sound very probably to him either, but it’s not _impossible._ The title ‘king’ or ‘queen’ doesn’t hold quite the significance it used to, since they’re no longer trapped, but. To some humans, it still means _something._ It still means enough that one day it’ll be his turn to symbolically take over the throne.

His and Chara’s. Though they’re to be ambassador, instead of Heir. Mom and Dad both say that the monsters need a spokesperson, someone who can plead their cause to the humans who won’t listen to them - and who could possibly be better than Chara, who has been a part of both worlds?

That’s… a long way off, though. Until after college at _least._

“So,” he says, brushing their fringe so it covers their eyes. They try exhaling sharply to get it back out of their face a few times before shooting him a dirty look and reaching up with their hand to rearrange it instead.

“So?” In revenge they tug at one of his ears. His giggle breaks off into a low yelp and he smacks their hand. They let it drop to their chest with a smug smile.

“So… what now?”

The smile morphs into what could probably be accurately described as a ‘pout’.

“I guess I’ll go find my roommate.”  They say the word the same way someone else might say ‘ _homework’,_ or _‘vomit’,_ or _‘surprise exam’_.

“Come on,” Asriel smiles. “They might not be that bad! Maybe you’ll even make a friend!”

Chara glares at him. “They’re a _human_ , Asriel. I’m pretty sure they’ll be _exactly_ that bad.”

“Not _all_ humans-” he starts, stifling his laughter as Chara steals one of his pillows to push it over their face.

“Name. One.” they grind out, effect slightly ruined by the way it muffles their voice.

“Well. You’re pretty okay.”

They hit him over the head with the pillow, but they’re smiling, so he smiles too.

“I barely even count anymore. You dork.”

 

* * *

 

He helps them drag their bags - it’s much easier now that most of the contents have been left in his room, though theirs still weigh more than his did because they brought like three times as many books even though there’s a library _right there at campus_ \- to their room, and then just sort of. Hangs around for a while.

As soon as they’ve made it into the room Chara digs up one of the books and makes their way to the bed. They don’t even bother unpacking the rest of them, or putting their own sheets on the bed, before they cram themself into the corner and starts reading.

Asriel is left feeling quite lost and unsure of what to do. “Um,” he says, uncertainly, “aren’t you going to unpack…?”

“What’s the point?” they shrug, not even looking up. “If I’m lucky I won’t have to stay here, right? No reason to make myself comfortable if I’m just gonna pack up and leave again tomorrow.”

“I guess,” he mumbles. It still feels distinctly wrong, somehow.

...it also doesn’t give him a purpose and right now he sort of needs one. He sticks around. Looks around the room - it’s just like his, nothing new to see. Fiddles a bit with the edge of his shirt. Starts silently counting his breaths, every once in a while shooting Chara a glance, just to make sure they’re still there.

He keeps on like that until they get tired of his hovering and slams their book shut with an aggravated sigh. He jumps at the sound.

“You’re allowed to leave, you know,” they say, dropping the book on the bed and standing up, stretching their arms over their head.

“I know,” he says, gnawing at his lip. He doesn’t _want_ to, though. He doesn’t want to leave Chara alone. He doesn’t want Chara to _be_ alone. He _especially_ doesn’t want them to be alone when first meeting their roommate. Just in case… in case. They’re… not often on their own around other humans. He, or Mom, or Dad, is always with them. “ I could stay, you know? I could wait with you until your roommate’s here.”

“I’ll be _fine_ , Asriel,” they drawl, herding him towards the door. “You don’t need to stay here to protect me from the big bad human. You’re the one who thinks they’ll be okay, remember?”

“A-are you sure, Chara?” he asks, halting at the threshold, hands itching to pull them into a hug. “It’s really no trouble, I can-”

“ _Yes_ , I’m sure,” they say, rolling their eyes. “I’m not _scared_ , Az.”

They meet his eyes defiantly. He pretends he can’t hear the way their voice is shaking, just a little bit, not enough for anyone else to notice, but he does.

He does hug them, then. “I know you’re not,” he mumbles into their hair, “I know you’re not scared, but Chara, there’d be nothing wrong with it if you were, okay? There’s nothing wrong with being scared.”

“You’re just saying that because _you’re_ such a scaredy-cat,” they grumble. For a blissful moment they relax into the hug, even hugging him back, their breaths puffing against his neck and it’s _nice_ , it’s a _good hug_ , but much too soon they disentangle themself and puts the distance back between them both again. “Come on, get going. Make some friends. Go meet _your_ roommate. I’m sure they’ll be absolutely delighted to find out they’re rooming with _the prince of all monsterkind_.”

There’s an obviously teasing tilt in their voice, which may or may not be just a front of confidence, but Asriel still can’t help but grimace.

“You know that’s barely even a thing anymore,” he protests, hoping Chara can’t tell how he really, really wants to hug them again. Or come back in the room and stay with them until their new roommate shows up no matter _what_ they say. Or both.

“Hey, I’m not the one you need to convince,” they say serenely, throwing them a smirk before starting to pull the door shut.

“Hey, Chara,” he says. They stop mid-way through closing the door and stare quizzically at him through the gap. His smile is entirely genuine as he tells them, “I love you.”

Something in their eyes soften. “I love you too,” they say, the corners of their lips twisting upwards just a little bit. “Nerd. Now, really, go! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you,” he says, and the door clicks closed, leaving him alone in the hallway.

He exhales slowly, and then starts making his way across campus, back to his own dorm. He hopes they’ll be okay. No, scratch that, he’ll _make sure_ they’re okay - as long as they have him, they’ll be fine, and they’ll _always_ have him. That is, he reminds himself, what family is _for._  Yeah! They’ll be fine. Both of them.

All in all, he should probably be more worried for the roommate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> three guesses who chara's mystery roommate is. nobody gets any points for answering correctly the question is way too easy for that 
> 
> ...actual questions that i'd be interested in seeing thoughts on:  
> 1\. this is all primarily planned to be platonic. but i'm not gonna lie i'm sort of charisk trash, whether it's platonic or romantic or anything at all, really, so. opinions on ships? any ships people want/do not want to see? 
> 
> 2\. what would our beloved undertale characters major in this is a very important question  
> i've made up my mind, or at least have Thoughts about most of them, but i'd be really interested in hearing you guys' ideas! any character any major. 
> 
> ...anything else u wanna say is also welcome and appreciated. again, it's - oh it's half past 3am now would u look at that - it's late and i'm lonely, you have my word you are not bothering me one single bit.


	2. introductions and impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara deals with the bad news.  
> Asriel's roommate arrives.  
> So does Chara's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> backflips into room  
> sup guys i'm back with more stress relief writing  
> introducing: frisk. twice. 
> 
> head's up for vague mentions of #self harm in the first chara parts! bc.... it's chara.....  
> additional head's up that this fic could go whichever way when it comes to lighthearted vs dark, but... chara has issues. asriel has issues. frisk has issues. these issues will, hopefully, be dealt with.  
> i'll do my best to warn you guys but i never promised you unlimited happiness  
> i am promising you PAIN  
> and humor

The door shuts behind Asriel with a soft _click_. Chara turns the lock, and then they are finally, blissfully, alone.

They wait a moment, and then another, slowly counting down from ten to make sure Asriel gets far enough away that he won’t hear them, and then they tear their bag up off the floor and hurls it across the room as hard as they can. It hits the wall with a _thud_ that is very satisfying up until some books fall out of it and land face-down, probably getting the pages bent all out of shape. _Ugh_.

They stomp over to shove them back into the bag. Carefully. But angry. Their entire body is vibrating with how angry they are.

God, they want to _break_ something, slam their fist into the wall as hard as they can, or better yet, the bathroom mirror, hitting it until it shatters in their hands-- but no. _No_ , they tell themself. That would be a bad idea, on multiple levels. Cleaning up the shards afterwards would be so bothersome, and they’d probably cut themself and then Asriel would look at them that way he does sometimes, where it’s like they’re a bomb and he’s scared to even talk to them in case they explode-

Besides, it’d be _such_ a hassle to explain to their new roommate why the mirror’s in pieces when classes haven’t even started yet.

They unclench their fists and tries counting down from ten again. Then they flop headfirst onto the bed, buries their face in the mattress, and _scream._

This is, to say the least, not how it was supposed to turn out.

They were supposed to room with Asriel. To live with him, just the two of them, and maybe that small slice of familiarity would make the rest of it bearable, and instead… instead they don’t even have that tiny comfort to rely on. Instead they’re expected to spend the next six-months-minimum with a _stranger_ , with no sort of personal space whatsoever, and to top it all of that stranger is going to be _human_.

… _this is for him_ , they remind themself. _This is for Asriel, this is for his family_ , _you owe them,_ **_you owe them._ ** Asriel deserves better than this, better than the school’s repulsive bigotry, yes, but also better than _them_ , better than the wreck of a person they’ve become. ****  

None of this is right, but they’ve lived through worse. They can do it. They _can._

With that thought, they begrudgingly start unpacking their bag.

(Only the essentials. They refuse to consider they might ever call this place a ‘home’.)

 

* * *

 

 

At first, not much changes from how the two of them had thought it would be; neither of their roommates have shown up yet, so for the first couple of days, Chara spends so much time in Asriel’s room that they might as well live there. He points this out multiple times, but everytime he offers them to stay, suggests they borrow his absent roommate’s bed just for a night or two, they laugh and shake their head no. If that laugh is brittle and sharp, if the headshake is unconvincing, Asriel doesn’t dare to push the issue further. He takes them at their word.

They explore the campus, tries to make sense of the maps, and with a lot of trial and error, manage to find their lecture halls. Chara gets stuck in the library for over three hours. Asriel spends nearly as long trying - and failing - to make them sign up for an extracurricular of some kind, any kind, with him. They try the coffee in the on-campus café, conclude it tastes like ground-up spiders, and then find an unexpected blessing in Muffet’s Parlor, which lies just off-campus and has coffee that tastes amazing despite possibly being _actually made_ of ground-up spiders. (Asriel tries not to think about it too much.)

It is on the fourth day, with classes starting in just a couple of days, that his roommate finally arrives.

He is, for once, alone. Chara is having one of their worse days, which means he didn’t manage to get them out of bed that morning, which means he’s spent most of the day drifting around campus on his own, or trying to organize his stuff, which is what he’s doing when there’s a thunk on the door, and a very excited voice saying “This one! It’s gotta be this one here, right?”, followed by a key being turned in the lock.

The moment the door opens a monster that looks sort of like the dinosaurs Chara has assured him really did exist once, only more yellow, falls into the room, landing flat on their face.

Asriel winces in sympathy, but before he’s had the time to help them up, they’ve done some weird acrobatic thing to get up on their own.

“YO!” they say, as soon as they’re off the floor, seemingly not at all put-off by their faceplant. “You’re my roommate!”

“Ah- yes, I suppose I am,” he replies. He’s heard people claim that humans come in all shapes and sizes, but with monsters, it’s really _true_. This particular one is small enough that he thinks it might be a challenge for them to reach the sink properly in the bathroom and finds himself wondering where he could get something for them to stand on, before realising with a start that they don’t have arms, which might make using the sink difficult either way.

But then how did they turn the key? He instinctively looks over at the door, which is right then being carefully shut by a human, dragging a lot of bags with them. When they notice Asriel looking they duck their head down and stares at the floor, before tentatively dropping one of the bags to give him a shy wave. Asriel does his best to smile reassuringly.

“I’m MK!” the monster pipes up. “And this is Frisk! They helped me with my bags, which is super cool of them, ‘cause it gets sorta tricky to do it on my own sometimes, and my big sis ditched me. Siblings, right?” They don’t seem to expect a response, ‘cause they launch right into their next sentence, while the human, apparently called Frisk, drags the bags over to MK’s bed. “Who’re you?”

“Asriel,” he responds, and then he remembers his manners and stands up straight. “I mean, I’m Asriel Dreemurr. It’s nice to meet you.”

MK’s eyes grow wide as soup plates. “ _Whoa_ -” they start, “Dreemurr as in like, _the royal family_?”

At Asriels somewhat embarrassed nod, they whisper _whoa_ again, this time with more emphasis.

“Maaan. I didn’t know you were gonna go here! Or anywhere. I guess I figured you wouldn’t have to go to school. Guess you do, huh?”

“Y-yeah. I mean, I’m actually happy to be here, so it’s not that big of a hardship…”

MK nods sagely and make a rather impressive jump to land on the bed.

“I know what you mean. I’m _super_ excited to be here! Aren’t you? Oh man, classes are gonna be so great, and I’ll get to meet _all sorts_ of cool exciting people, I can’t _wait._ ” They bounce a little in their seat.

Asriel nods along, and then he turns to Frisk, who has been sort of quiet. Maybe they’re shy? Or maybe they’re scared of him. “Hi,” he says, as non-threateningly as he can. “Frisk, was it?”

They nod, and then hold their hand up in the universal signal for ‘ _wait’_ while fumbling through their bag with their other hand, eventually managing to dig up their phone. It’s an old flip phone, with buttons instead of a touch screen.

… Asriel’s phone has a keypad, too. It gets tricky to navigate the touchscreen with his fingers sometimes. They’re too big to find the right letters, and autocorrect is unreliable. Chara has a newer one, though.

The human types something and then holds the phone out to Asriel so he can read. **I’m mute** , it says. **Sorry.**

“Oh!” he says, surprise evident in his voice, and then, “Oh, no, that’s okay, sorry! I shouldn’t have assumed.”

He hesitates for a moment, trying to remember how, and then he brings his hands up to his chest and signs, slowly and deliberately. ‘ _I know some ASL, if you’d prefer to sign.’_

Their eyes light up, smile spreading across their face and they nod fervently before throwing themself into signing so quickly Asriel almost has trouble keeping up. _‘Yes! That’d be amazing! I wasn’t sure if anyone here would know sign language, and we couldn’t afford an interpreter. This is great!’_

 _‘Slower, please?’_ he signs. _‘It’s been a while-’_

 _‘Yes, of course, sorry,’_ they sign, immediately growing more subdued. Asriel hides a grimace. He hadn’t intended to chastise them, but before he can say so, MK jumps back into the conversation.

“Hey!” they exclaim, “What’s that? You can _understand_ them?”

Frisk seems to shrink even smaller. Asriel nods.

“I- yeah, it’s sign language, see?” he says, flashing Frisk a quick (or as quick as he’s capable of) _‘Don’t worry about it.’_ Frisk smiles a bit in return.

“ _Awesome,_ ” MK breathes. Their eyes are sparkling. “That is _so cool._ Can you teach me?”

“I don’t know… “ Asriel says, self-consciously. “I’m sort of rusty, it’s been a while, and I was never really that good to begin with… “

“Where’d you learn it?” MK persists. “Why do you know it?”

… well. He knows it because all of them do.

There was a time when Chara couldn’t speak. They’d just become part of the family, and they’d never really been the type to talk a lot with strangers around in the first place, but suddenly, it was like all their words were just… gone. They wouldn’t talk even to Asriel. It seemed like nothing they did helped, no matter what anyone tried, Chara just… wouldn’t talk.

So Toriel set out to learn sign language, and then she taught everyone else, and then Chara had words again, even if they couldn’t use their voice.

But that’s not Asriel’s story to tell.

MK is looking at him with unguarded curiosity, and even Frisk is looking interested. He can’t just avoid the question, so Asriel glues a smile to his face, and gives them a half-truth. “It’s a royal family thing!” he says brightly.

To his relief they seem to accept that as an explanation.

“Aww. I still want to learn, though,” MK says. Frisk pokes Asriel’s arm.

 _‘Translate for me?’_ He nods. Frisk turns back to MK, and Asriel narrates out loud.

“Frisk says they’ll be happy to teach you, if you really want to.”

“ _Yeah!_ ” MK enthuses. “You’re the _best_ , Frisk! I’ll be a kickass student, just you wait!”

Frisk hides their smile behind their palm. _‘I should go,’_ they sign soon after. _‘Leave you two to it, get settled in on my own and all that.’_

“Ah- Frisk says they should go - I could help you get to your room, if you want?” Asriel says, out loud for MK’s benefit, clumsily signing along. “I mean, I’ve only been here a couple of days, but I know how to find _some_ places, and I could help you carry your bag...s…?”

They do, he realises suddenly, only have one. Something about that strikes him as distinctly wrong in a way he can’t quite articulate, a strange discomfort settling in his stomach.

They shake their head. ‘ _No, it’s okay! I’ll be fine. Thank you.’_

“No problem,” he says. “Um. I’ll see you around, Frisk!”

“Yeah, see you!” MK chirps, and Frisk waves them goodbye and leaves.

MK proves an interesting and energetic conversational partner, and before long Asriel’s discomfort is faded and forgotten.

 

* * *

 

It has been four days since they arrived on campus, and Chara is absolutely certain Asriel hates them - or, if nothing else, he _should._ They snapped at him when he tried to wake them up, they barely even listened to his attempts to convince them to get out of bed, and now he should hate them because they _know_ it hurts him to see them like that. If they were a better person they’d be able to fake it. If they were a better person they wouldn’t hurt him so much.

But being a ‘better person’ would be absolutely exhausting, and Chara has very little energy to begin with. It was long past 12 when they finally managed to gather the motivation to drag themself out of bed, and then another hour for them to get into clothes that aren’t their pajamas. At least they don’t need to brush their hair - it’s short enough and messy enough that no one could really tell the difference anyways. #birdnestperks.

They ruffle it a bit with their fingers, tries to push the fringe out of the way, give up, and try to figure out what the next logical step is.

… food. Food is a thing that should be had, probably. The stuff Toriel sent with them has already run out, and nothing in the fridge looks appealing, so they throw on a jacket and their sneakers and go out to buy something.

After a nice, solitary walk, with their music blasting through the headphones at a volume that might not be entirely healthy, and some food in them, they’re actually feeling vaguely like a person again.

They head back to their room.

They slam the door open, like usual, stalk right up to their bed, as usual - and freeze up when they realise the room is not as they have left it. On the bed on the opposite side of the room there is one lonely duffel bag. A quick glance around the room reveals no more bags, but the bathroom is occupied.

Chara shuts their eyes in defeat. Somehow, they’d - they _knew_ the roommate would turn up, sooner or later, but maybe a part of them was still, sort of hoping… Whatever.

They go stand by the window and look out over campus. They could leave the room right now, postpone the meeting just a little bit more, go find Asriel and apologise for this morning. But that’d be the same thing as running away, wouldn’t it? And they still wouldn’t get away…

Before they’ve managed to come to a decision, the bathroom door clicks open, and the choice is made for them. If they left now they’d have to explain why. Footsteps approach, light and hesitant. Chara steels themself.

 _Remember,_ they say to themself, _You’re doing this for Asriel. You have to tough it out, for his sake. Maybe he’s right. Maybe they won’t be that bad. Maybe you can get along. Maybe they’ll be content not talking to you ever. You’ll be_ **_fine._ **  

Holding that thought firmly at the fore-front of their mind, they turn to face the- their new roommate.

They’re… taller than Chara is, which is par for the course - just about _everyone_ is taller than Chara is, though they’ll gladly fight anyone who tries to point it out - and their hair is dark brown, long enough to fall quite a bit past their shoulders, fringe held out of the way with a bright red hair clip. They’re wearing a white cardigan over a light blue shirt and a frilly skirt with a floral pattern, the kind you’d expect to find at a birthday party for ten-year old girls, not on a college freshman.

It all comes together to form an impression that is disgustingly sweet. It looks like someone grabbed a doll, or the illustration from a sickeningly saccharine children’s book about some ‘Friendly Felicia’ or ‘Amiable Amy’, made it into a real person, and hoped no one would notice.

Chara hates them on sight.

...but they promised Asriel.

“So,” they say, carefully keeping their voice completely free of judgment or resentment. “You’re my roommate.”

The roommate’s head dips down into a short nod. Some of their hair slips out of the clip. They reach up to push it behind their ear. Chara gives them a second, but that’s the only response they get to their greeting - instead of replying, the roommate rubs their thumb against their wrist, like they’re scratching a mosquito bite. Chara gives it another three seconds before they grit their teeth and takes a deep breath.

Technically, this is a bad idea. It’s a bad idea because it means revealing a vulnerability, saving their enemies the time and effort of figuring it out, letting them know just where to hit them so it will really hurt. It’s like Achilles wearing a neon sign saying “WANT ME DEAD? AIM HERE” with helpful arrows pointing to his heel.

But not doing it is _worse_ , because it’s just so fucking _exhausting_ to take the microaggressions all the time. Better to just get it out in the open and over with so they’ll know exactly _where_ on the sliding scale of human awfulness their unexpected and unasked for roommate’s name should be.

Hanging around monsters is worlds better just on the sheer basis they don’t have to fucking _do_ this.

“Alright,” they say, squaring their chin up to fight. “Let’s just get this clear right away, so there’s no room for misunderstanding later: My name is _Chara_. Refer to me by any other name and I will hurt you. I am not a girl. I am not a boy. Call me either of those things, or try to gender me in literally _any way,_ and I will tear you into pieces so tiny there will never be a body for anyone to find. _Got that?_ ”

The roommate nods. They don’t look intimidated at all. Annoyingly enough, even more annoying than their _stupid_ hair, is the way they’re suddenly _smiling._ Chara squints, expecting to be patronised or insulted, and fully prepared to give as good as they get. (Or worse. Most likely worse.)

Instead, the roommate pulls a paper out from their pocket, and hands it to Chara.

It’s a letter.

Chara gives the roommate a scathing look. Their smile doesn’t falter. Instead, they gesture for them to read it.

Suspiciously eyeing them, Chara does.

It’s a letter in a handwriting Chara can’t describe as anything other than _bouncy_ , starting with the words _“Hi, I’m Frisk! I’m non-binary, and I’d be grateful if you could refer to me using they/them pronouns.”_

So.

Maybe there is _something_ they have in common, after all.

… it is, they begrudgingly admit, a relief not to have to worry about being misgendered 24/7.  With a _slightly_ less scathingly negative opinion of the roommate, they keep reading. Among a plethora of information Chara immediately sorts away as ‘unimportant’, the phrases “ _You may have already noticed, but I can’t speak.”_ and _“If you have any questions, go ahead! I’ll write the answers out for you.”_ jumps out at them.

The letter ends with a cutesy smiley face, and a doodled heart.

For a moment Chara considers not mentioning anything. They haven’t used sign language in… in years. Not since they started feeling truly safe at the Dreemurr’s. They don’t particularly want to start again now.

… but waiting for The Roommate to type everything out every single time communication is necessary - which, unfortunately, might be often considering they by the very definition of the title ‘roommate’ _share a room_ \- would be time consuming, _annoying,_ and extremely, distractingly, _unnecessary_.

They sigh deeply, and then, in the manner of someone set to attend their own funeral, hand back the letter.

“You won’t have to type. I know ASL, you can just… sign.”

The roommate’s smile grows impossibly brighter and they… bounce on their tip-toes a bit. Chara fights down the urge to glare at them in exchange for just staring blankly. To their satisfaction, the roommate’s excitement slowly melts away in the face of their indifference. They scratch at their wrist again.

 _‘Thank you_ ,’ they say- or, well, sign, and then, visually gathering courage, ‘ _I really hope we’ll get along.’_

“I doubt it,” Chara mutters under their breath, and then raise their voice. “Yeah, whatever. Just… stay on your side of the room, or something.”

The roommate nods, with frustrating sincerity.

Chara should hash things out with them more clearly, set up rules, or boundaries, or… whatever, but they don’t like meeting new people even on a good day, and today is anything but, so instead they toss themself on the bed, pull out their laptop, plug in their headphones and immerse themself in watching shitty let’s plays on youtube, firmly ignoring the roommate’s cautious glances. They’re not feeling guilty. It’s not like being _friends_ was ever a requirement.

Really, the roommate should thank their lucky stars they’re even getting _civil._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TA DA there we go  
> ((mk does not have arms. mk does not have arms in canon and they do not have arms in this fic. this is a bit of an issue, but they do alright - when there's no one conveniently around to help them, there's magic :D they're a resourceful kid.)) 
> 
> i've planned the main parts of frisk's & chara's character arcs out, and i've some vague ideas abt asriel  
> i've also narrowed down what most of them are studying! there's a list now, in my planning doc, right alongside all the.... other lists..... save me.... thanks to everyone who left suggestions/guesses c: i'm extra happy to see people have the same ideas as i had bc it's super reassuring to know i didn't get them baselessly out of the void lol  
> speaking of which, the outpouring of comments for this fic was absolutely amazing and i love you all. pls know you made a fic writer out there very happy.  
> aaaand SPEAKING OF MAKING ME HAPPY (shameless self-promo incoming): i made an undertale blog. it's 90% chara. ((it's actually only going to be things related to chara & asriel & frisk probably, the other stuff still gets to go on my main, i'm just trying to spare a mutual from seeing things they don't wanna)) come join me at youngwills.tumblr.com so i'll have more of an excuse to talk abt my child
> 
> so, about the shipping poll we held last chapter, we had an overwhelming AYE in favor of charisk, with a couple of people voting chasriel instead. i figured i'd stay true to one of the cornerstones of my personality and ask.  
> ...............how's everyone feeling abt ot3s....?


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